puttered around outside for a bit this morning. the sky is clear, cobalt brilliance. the air has that crisp feeling that speaks to the season’s change, and i remembered as i was driving how this used to be the time of year i most enjoyed to go camping in the mountains.
there is a small town in the north mountains, themed as if a german town. ambience of an eternal oktoberfest. small shops dot the area, fresh vegetable and fruit stands, grannies in calico dresses selling preserves and other home-made items.
i used to stop there on my way into the mountains. pick up fruits and other perishables. zip-lock baggies and empty gallon jugs for fresh mountain water. drive until the road ran out. park and hoist the pack and set out. several hours hike to one of a few favorite spots.
the one i best recall is by a stream. a convenient curve became my ‘refridgerator’. stones gathered and set around it to form a small, secure area, the baggies of fresh fruits and vegetables placed there to chill. a portable hammock set between two trees nearby, a small clearing carefully demarcated by more stones… my private camping spot.
in all the time i went there, i never found signs of another person arriving. in many ways, it was like my personal dimensional portal. many things managed from the blessing of that place, often while watching lightening dance on the peak of a nearby named mountain.
this may sound odd, but there is something almost spiritual about watching leaves against a moonlit, star-scattered sky. i can remember lying in the hammock, listening to the sounds of natural life, watching the canopy rustle and lazily semi-counting stars as sleep washed slowly over me. cradled in the arms of the universe, i think those times might well be the only moments i’ve ever known true and total contentment.
i miss feeling that kind of connection to the world. self-inflicted, i know. pensive thought of a return to my personal sanctuary in the mountains… wondering at this moment if the stones are still there. wondering if i could make the hike today, arthritis being what it is. the leaves would be starting to change about now… and the sapling i planted there some 15 years ago should be whispering to its brothers and sisters.
i remember i used to think of moving there, of living there. of just leaving everything behind and disappearing into those woods. i think of it still. i miss the feeling of that cradling.